Podcasts about queerradio

Jonny and Heather celebrate the official debut of Tesserae, Cabondale's premier queer+ choir and the incredible turnout of community support.They then turn from the audible to the visible to discuss the queer stories this week about photo manipulation. In the back half of the show they briefly review the rotten tomato of the Trump Administration's report and advisement policies for trans youth. They then share some stories of how queers are making small changes to blend in, contrasting those survival tricks with VP "Shady" Vance's preference for "normal gays." It's a show with a slightly different take than the usual on queer visibility.

Send us a textOn this episode, we speak with Tony's Place executive director Carrie Rai and catch up with this organization providing services to LGBT youth.  Then we have a conversation with Dixie Longate and her Tupperware Party. And finally we speak with Judy L Reeves about the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History, Inc. (GCAM), Queer Radio and the late Jimmy Carper.Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ andhttps://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/

Jonny and Heather discuss disturbing trends in the US and UK to link neurodivergence like autism and ADHD with queer and trans identity. They explore some of the productive correlations and some of the ones more likely to lead to state-sponsored suppression. In the back half of the show they examine some examples of conflict within movements, resistance and/or LGBTQ+ rights--when they can be productive and when they aren't. The two halves come together in an acknowledgment that diversity can be challenging but ultimately it is necessary.

Jonny and Heather start off the show discussing Jonny's rececent recogntion with the SIU Sturgis Award for Community Service. They talk about local community activism and support, including turnout out at this weekend's "Hands Off" protest, again despite the terrible weather. They talk about the Illinois High School Association's support for trans athletes.The then shift to the Deat of Poe Francis and the likely connections to this event will have to Trump adminiistration machinations. In the back half of the show, they turn to legal dramas in the US and UK Supreme Courts. They end with some announcements of local community events and a call to think globablly but act locally.

Jonny and Heather discuss Heather's new novel, Goodbye Hello, an unconventional romance that begins with grief at a funeral. In the back half of the show, they examine new turns in the anti-trans rhetoric of TERFs and transphobes, turns meant to be rebuttals to arguments for trans righs. They offer rebuttals to the rebuttals and note the pervasive function of caricature as a tool of scapegoating embedded in all the antitrans rhetoric.

Jonny and Heather check in on getting through some intense midwest weather, complete with flooding and tornadoes. Despite these challenges, the "Queer Stories, Queer Spaces" oral history installation had a great opening reception in the Sharp Museum on the SIU campus. Also, despite the cancellation of protests in our area due to the weather, great numbers showed up to join the "Hands Off" event in Carbomdale. They discuss the incredible turnout for this protest around the country and in Europe, noting especially the involvement and recent protests held by LGBTQ+ and other veterans. In the back half of the show, Jonny interviews photographer Nick Blair, whose exhibit "Castro to Christopher: Gay Streets of America 1979-1986" opens in the Sharp Museum this Friday. They discuss the art of photography and the incredible power of visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in their neighborhood streets and in public. 

Jonny and Heather are joined by Craig as we record this episode on Trans Day of Visibility. We discuss visibility, the good and the bad kind, as Craig conemplates the consequences of the Trump Admin challenging California's laws aganst teachers mandated to report any and all gender variance in students t their parents. The consequences of related grade school traumas stay with us our entire lives. We also lean into fighting deliberate efforts at trans erasure. In the back half of the show, Jonny shares exerptes from oral histories that are (and are not) part of the upcoming installation in the Sharp Museum on the SIU Campus, "Queer Stories/Queer Spaces: Histories and Queertographies." He shares particularly oral histories about the local LGBTQ+ swimming hole, The Pit.

Jonny interviews Casey and Jamie about their project, "Laveder House," a center for mutual support for the transgender communiy in Carbondale. In the process of sharing information about this resource, Jamie and Casey tell part of their story about living in Florida and why they left. In the back half of the show, Heather and Jonny discuss a new Transgender Spiritual group Heather will be hosting at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship (CUF). They connect the dots on the costs of separatism and the benefits of wholism. They analze how the current strategy of the DNC, including Rep. Sarah McBride as a spokeswoman, misses the boat on connecting their constituents' concerns as they deemphasize trans rights advocacy. They close out the show with a review of the many events this weekend celebrating Monday's Transgender Day of Visibility. If you would like to connect with the Carbondale Lavender House, please send a text message to 618-203-9520.

Heather sits down with Morgan and Ryland of the Downstate Illinois Transgender Organization (DITO) to talk about the organization, Lavender House, and upcoming Transgender Day of Visibility events. In the back half of the show, Jonny sits down with Alex Socoro and Kelsey Maffett of the Rainbow Cafe to talk about upcoming TDOV events and how the organization is weathering the challenges of the current political climate. 

Jonny and Heaher take a moment to recognize Heather's 20th Anniversary of being married to Kaye and reflect generally on Marriage Equality. They then lead off with some stories of success in the current less than supportive climate. In the back half of the show, they follow President Trump's transgenic mouse down a hole about the biology and neuroscience validating and explaining the existence of transgender people. They are not surprised that science is as much a target of the current regime as the LGBTQ+ community.

Jonny and Heather process the Great Ukraine White House Debacle from Friday. They note how the spectacle might be overshadowing other developmensts of unprecedented policy changes worthy of our LGBTQ+ vigilance. Oh yeah, and they note in passing that the Oscars happened (yawn). In the back half of the show they look at trends that give us hope as well as tools for using our consumer dollars to bring about change. Hint: don't buy a Tesla!

Jonny interviews Jordan Badgette about her upcoming performance, "Gender Knobs," an exploration of transgender experience with sound technology. Jordan's performance celebrates queer joy, and in the back half of the show Jonny and Heather lean into the queer joy of stories of resistance and pushback to the Trump Administration. Is the tide finally turning? Maybe. Maybe not. But we take joy in the myriad stories of challenges to the authoritarian turn.

Jonny sits down to interview Scott Johnson the director of Tesserae, Carbondale's premier Queer+ Choir. They discuss the origin, makeup, funding, and upcoming first concert of the project. In the back half of the show, Heather joins Jonny to discuss some particular Carbondale and Southern Illinois protests and pushback against the autocratice and phobic uprising, providing just a few highlights of this past week's attrocities.

Jonny welcomes Heather back with a brief discussion of the Superb Owl, which neither of them watched. They then turn to a brief chronicle of the anti-LGBTQ moves and rhetoric in the government and beyond this past week. In the back half of the show, they share two examples of the consequenses of this political climate before moving on to recommendations for acting up and pushing back, some of them literally from ACT UP.

Jonny and Craig discuss DEI. They start with a focus on the local, plugging artistic work in Carbondale with the upcoming Kleinau Theatre production of "Epiphanies," an adaptation of Flash Fiction by local writer, Epiphany Ferrell. They then turn to recent attacks by the Trump Administration on DEI and what that might mean for the university where they teach (SIU). They then discuss the Grammies and what this past weekend's music awards might teach us about the value of DEI. In the back half of the show, they examine the Trump Administration's high level placement of gay and lesbian conservatives in positions of significance. They discuss how this participates in a concerted effort to pare the Q and T off of LGBTQ, and why they are not having it. 

Jonny and Heather check in with each other after a rough first week of Trump Administration 2.0. They then explore how right wing pundits and trolls make really convoluted excuses to support their president, pairing the controversy over Elon Musk's "Roman" gesture and outrage over Bishop Budde's blessing at the Washington Cathedral. In the back half of the show, they discuss the conflict of policy mandates with agency restructuring and dismantling, resulting in inefficiency and higher governmental costs. All of this posed against a backdrop where already the Trump administration claims inflation is not a focus of their agenda and its going to "take a while" for food and other cont-of-living prices to come down.

Jonny and Heather take a look at some of the anticipated executive orders of the incoming Trump administration, especially those targetting trans people. They contrast this with some of Biden's initial executive orders and other efforts of his administration to support LGBTQ folks. They then look at evidence in Congress and elsewhere that Trump's base is showing some serious cracks and divides. In the back half of the show, the discuss Tik Tok and the hypocrisy of Trump claiming to be its savior. They examine the difficulties in current social media with organizing activism while also singing the praises of the People's March and the need to stay focus and stay active.

Jonny and Craig dig out from under snow and ice to share some contemplatioms on cultural, political, and environmental climates. In the front half of the show, they unpack their experience of the recent great ice storm that paralyzed Southern Illinois. They follow this with the hot times, politicially and environmentally, in LA right now. They turn to the death of Anita Bryant and why some might embrace a climate of celebration given her history. In the back half of the show, they discuss the shifting climate for LGBTQ folks on the Meta platforms, particularly Facebook, and what we can and can't do about it.

Jonny compiles a montage show of interviews, stories, and topics from 2024, painting a picture of what the year lin LGBTQ concerns, particularly in Southern Illinois, sounded like.It is a sampling, incomplete to be sure, but illustrative of 2024 nonetheless.

Jonny and Heather put together a surprise Christmas show thanks to changes in their holiday travel plans. They put aside the news and politics, and current events in favor of some contemplation of Christmas for queer folks, including some shows and some music to enjoy. It's (mostly) holiday themed queer popular culture to enjoy on this day of joy. Find the joy where you can, friends! 

Jonny and Heather start off the show by listening to a public statement made by local Carbondale City Councilwoman, Clare Killman, who has a proposal for Illinois to defend itself from federal assaults on bodily autonomy. They then compare the clarity and firmness of her response to Congressional Democrats who seem to lack a spine and are throwing LGB but particularly T under the bus. In the back half of the show they discuss access to healthcare and a revitalized interest in discussing predatory insurance companies. The lesson there is that the assalut on gender-affirming healthcare is really an assault on all of our healthcare.

Jonny and Hearher check in about their busy queer weekend . Less fun, the check in on how that Skrmetti case went in the Supreme Court last week. From that they pull a theme they explore in the back half of the show--how actions are connected and the world is a web of interconnections. While this can be daunting when phobias spread across those strands, it can also be hopeful when justice and resistence do too. With that in mind, the discuss anti trans laws in Alberta, Canada and the regime change in Syria alongside queers preparing for assaults on their marriages and a Ohio elementary school teacher sues her district for a disciplinary action based on homophobia.

Jonny and Heather discuss World AIDS Day, reflecting on their own histories and lessons learned from the disease, including lessons we might take into the future. They discuss new breakthrough medications for the syndrome that approach the level of vaccination. In the back half of the show, they discuss the pending Supreme Court case challenging Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for trans youth. They detail the trans masculine lawyer working for the ACLU and speaking before the court as well as other elected trans officials across the country.

Jonny and Heather dive into the ludicrous new House Rule segregating bathrooms based on transphobic fears...or maybe its just toxic politicking? They turn to the already building evidence of assaults on trans rights as states submit bills for consideration in 2025 and President Trump advertises his first intended Executive Orders. They also look at what detention camps for queer and trans people will likely look like in the new regime, created in ways that might allow cis/het folks to ignore them. In the back half of the show, they turn to the organizations that are already pushing back on these toxic policies as well as ways queer and trans folks can prepare for the worst. They turn to the ways media is already adapting, in good and bad ways, to the incoming administration. They continue to urge listeners to participate in independent community media and local organizations resisting homophobic and transphobic policies.

Jonny and Heather pause to recognize the Trans Day of Remembrance with information about services in Carbondale while also taking a moment to hear the names of the trans folks who have died in the last year in the US. They lean into why times are so rough right now for queer and trans folks with a general discussion of resources avaialble to get through the coming rough(er) times. In the back half of the show they discuss the weaponization of mental illness aganst trans people and how LGBTQ folks are leaving Twitter/X in mass for social media platforms like Blue Sky.

Jonny and Heather discuss the outcome of the 2024 election. They try to avoid finger-pointing and armchair quarterbacking campaign choices and, instead, process their feelings and look to evidence of a shifting political landscape. They find glimmers of hope where they can while preparing for the worst. They note that, while the top of the ticiet and the majorities in Congress are pretty dire, there was considerable good news in state referenda on abortion access and historic elections of LGBTQ candidates. They end with with a call to community and the experienced advice of queer veterans (literally and figuratively) on what we need to do going forward. 

Jonny and Heather face the challenge of recording a show on a Monday afternoon before it airs on a Wednesday morning in the first week of November....in a very contentious and signficant election year. Acknowledging the challenge of recording before any results or consequences are yet known, they offer some escapes from election anxiety and, perhaps, a harsh return to one. The review and gush over Disney+ and the MCU's "Agatha All Along." The then turn to reminding folks to check in on how the LGBTQ and 2S candidates in the race, lower down the ballot and out of the likely headlines did in the election. In the back half of the show, the turn to Uganda and the lessons that can be taken from an African nation that has given the death penalty to LGBTQ identities. How the rest of Africa is treating queer refugees from Uganda and the impacts of the policy for Uganda's economy are important lessons for the US to attend to as we flirt with a similar degree of regulation for queer and trans bodies.

Jonny and Heather discuss the horrors of Halloween--that is, the actual horrors of these last days of the Presidential campaign alongside the queertastic holiday celebrations of Halloween. In the back half of the show, Jonny interviews Sister Texas Hotbox of the SOIL Sisters about their holiday card project, sending holiday greetins to queer and trans folks who may not be receiving such worm wishes from their families of origin, If you would like a personalized holiday greeting from from Sister Texas, fill out these confidential forms here:Thanksgiving: https://tinyurl.com/yttceyvfDecember Holidays: https://tinyurl.com/yb8tjvhp

Heather and Jonny kick off the show with a geek-out over good Dr. Who news before moving into the threatened dystopia of a President Vance. They dig into the irony of the anti-LGBTQ senator's gay billionaire patron, delving into the influence ot technolibertarians and a philosophy of Dark Enlightenment. After detailing this bleakness, they check in on queers actually serving in the federal government and running for office, including the psychological challenges of such work. They close out with a bit more queer-positive media as a tonic for the anxieties we face in these final weeks of the 2024 election season.

Jonny and Heather record the episode on Columb--er, Indigenous People's Day, and have some things to say about the costs of colonialism and the importance of Two Spirit/Q-Spirit. The review some events last week, one a planned pesentation on the queer history of the region and the other a grassroots protest for an anti-trans speaker brought to speak in Carbodale on National Coming Out Day. They then switch to some TERF-y women causing additional problems for queer and trans folks with their loose connection to history, science, and reality. They end with excitement for new films in the works by the Wachowski sisters celebrating trans horror, as well as other films available for streaming that avoid the Bury Your Gays trope. 

Jonny and Heather reunite and check back in on the stormy weather, from Hurricanes to politics and a a whirlwind of lies. In the back half of the show, the review some recent court cases and try to predict from their mostly favorable aoutcomes for trans folks what we might expect from forthcoming Supreme Court decisions on LGBTQ+ issues. The close out with some muche appreciated LGBTQ+ entertainment worth following.

Jonny details his experiences with Hurricane (Tropical Storm, by the time it got to him) Helene during the 35th Annual Gay Spirit Visions Fall Conference at The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center outside Highlands NC. He tells a story of adaptation and resilience and communities coming together to deal with a crisis. In the back half of the show, he takes on the misinformation already circulating about the storm's damage and the Federal response to it. In the process, he assesses both the political and spiritual need to be aware of the world as it is, to respond mindfully to the conditions on the ground.

Jonny and Heather lean into their various fandoms and geek out a bit over genre fiction before diving into recent news. The quuer geekdom follows as they discuss 2 LGBTQ+ history making actions by Joe Biden in the last week and the queer alignments of the parties and candidates in the 2024 election. In the back half of the show the briefly check in on the St. Louis gay bar that was crashed into by a police hehicle. They then turn to Eastern Europe and the struggles against and capitulations to Russian anti-LGBTQ+ policy.

Jonny turns over the first half of the show to fellow SOIL Sister, Sr. Benedeta Cuna-lingee, and her new podcast dealing with queer spirituality, Holy Spectrum. Episode 1, "Queer Spirituality 101," lays out the plan for the podcast's future episodes and some basic starting assumptions of queer spirituality. In the back half of the show, Jonny and Heather are joined by Sr Cuna-lingee's alter ego, Dr. Christina Ivy, to discuss the episode and why a podcast about queer spirituality is much needed.

Jonny and Heather have to discuss yet another school shooting with yet again alleged queer overtones. First, it is the war of words between the Vice Presidential candidates over what really is a "fact of life." Second, it is the immediate and false charge that the shooter (and all recent school shooters) is trans. In the back half of the show, Jonny and Heather acknowledges former President Trump's increased lying, especially about trans youth, and trace the influence of these lies to Cold War politics, whether direct Russian interference or Trump's mentor, Cold War red hunter Roy Cohn. They end with some good news that, as SCOTUS takes up Tennesee's trans ban legislation, evidence shows conservatives starting to reel from the repercussions of anti-trans legislation.

Jonny is on his own this week, recording the show on Labor Day Monday. In the front half of the show, he details "autogynephilia" as a debunked pseudo-scientific theory still popular among the gender critical and transphobes. It is one of the ways LGB (No T, No Q) folks bracket out trans experience from "gay" experience. He also details its cousin, the myth of "Transing the Gay Away." In the back half of the show, he leans into his own queer story and evolution into understaning of his gender nonconforming, nonbinary identity. At the core of LGBTQ rights, he argues, is trans advocacy and the fight for gender diversity.

Heather returns, and she and Jonny recap the Democratic National Convention, parsing their feels and the ways the DNC did and didn't represent queer community. In the back half of the show, they continue the political campaign analysis with a dive into Twitter/X and who is and isn't Tweeting (X-crementing?) there these days. They ponder if harsh right wing social media might finally be facing some serious and legal push back.

Jonny is on their own again this week. They offer a recognition of the 104th anniversary of the radification of the 19th Amendment and uses it to link together several stories about political change. In the back half of the show, he shares a persuasive argument from Anna Marie that transphobia and racism, binary gender and Whiteness are firmly linked. The implication of this argument is that queer and trans advocacy is the central fight of the culture right now, and Jonny shares examples of where that struggle is being engaged.

Jonny is on his own this week and digs into why this current election season is so rough for LGBTQ+ and particualrly trans people. He shows how the Harris-Walz ticket is being challenged with mischaracterizations of their LGBTQ+ advocacy, but also why such advocacy is a distinguishing element of their candidacy. In the back half of the show, he digs into Project 2025 and Agenda 47, which are particulalry focused on restricting queer and trans rights and visibility. He closes with two stories that show the limits and pushback of such anti queer and gender-expasive politicking. If you are interested in applying for the Tim Rice Scholarship through the Rainbow Cafe, you can find the application here: https://www.rainbowcafe.org/scholarship.html

Heather returns to the show to share some her experiences with CoVid as the Country experiences another surge in cases. Jonny and Heather then turn their attention to the Olympics and the social media kerfuffle about women's boxing, particularly continued misogynist gender critical attacks against the elligibility of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting. In the back half of the show, they discuss recent developments in politics, including the LGBTQ+ advocacy record of new Democratic VP candidate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. They are joined at the end of the show by Ky Chamelion, whose songe "Vibrate Higher" is doing quite well on America's Next Top Hit Maker. If you would like to hear Ky's song and/or vote for them in the competition, you can do so here: https://tophitmaker.org/2024/ky-chameleon

Jonny is joined again this week by Craig as Heather still struggles to get a negative test with CoVid. They discuss the Olympics and particularly the opening ceremony and the (misplaced) Christian outrage at its content. They also discuss the status of LGBTQ Olympians as the contest continues. In the back half of the show they turn to the Democratic Party's successful use of "weird" to mark he policies and practices of Trump and the MAGA Republicans. How do queers feel about allies calling people "weird"? It's complicated....and not!

Jonny is joined by his husband, Craig, to discuss the slew of recent political dramas at the national level. They use their perspective as scholars of Performance Studies (and queer theory and popular culture and...) to review the Republican National Convention, the selection of J.D. Vance as the GOP Vice President candidate, and the elevation of Kamala Harris to potential Democratic Presidential nominee after the stepping down of Joe Biden from the ticket. 

Jonny interviews Dr. Joe Hassert who was a resident of Carbondale from 2000 to 2012 and was remarkably active in making community art projects happen here. Joe now lives in Las Vegas where he is a professor of Communication Studies at the College of Southern Nevada. He is the current president of the queer faculty and staff advocacy group there and works with students in the student LGBTQ organization to bring about positive, material change in their institution. Jonny and Joe talk about life in the desert, the queer scene in Las Vegas, what Joe learned from his time in Southern Illinois, LGBTQ advocacy, mass shootings, politics, and pragmatic activism. 

Jonny yields the microphone (mostly) to SIU's The Intersectuionality Project and the Black and Queer Roundtable for a discussion of the importance of education and the educational disparities that face Black, Brown, and queer youth. Daniel, Janine, and Mendez pull from their own experience and recent research to drive a lively and informative discussion.

Jonny and Heather process their desire for a month of hibernation following a very active Pride Month. They then turn their attention to recent developments in presidential politics and connections between agism and homophobia/transphobia. Also, maybe why presidential immunity isn't such a good thing. In the back half of the show, they review a SCOTUS decision on states' rights when dealing with unhoused people on public lands and connect that to trans-advocacy, including trans- and empathy-advocacy on Dr. Who.

Jonny interviews Jo Clifford, playwright and performer of "The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven," being presented at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Carbondale in the coming week (June 29 and July 2). They discuss the topic of the play, which considers,"What would happen if Jesus did come back to earth in the present day as a trans woman?" In the back third of the show, Heather and Jonny review two legal developments for the LGBTQ community, one that seems like pretty good news for veterans expelled from the military under "Don't Ask Don's Tell," the other somewhat trepidatious news as the SCOTUS takes up a case on Tennessee's ban of gender affirming care for trans youth.

Jonny and Heather interview Shay Miller, the director of Mae West's "The Drag," a Stage Company performance coming up for the last two weekends of Pride Month. A 1931 play by queer icon Mae West adapted by Darrin J. Pufall Purdy and Minerva Jayne, "The Drag" has many resonances with current attempts to ban drag performance. While focusing on the play, Jonny, Heather, and Shay also touch on other events going on in Southern Illinois to celebrate Pride.

Jonny interviews Carrie Vine of Rainbow Cafe and the Southern Illinois Pride Collective about the incredibly full weekend of SI PrideFest activities in Carbondale this coming weekend (June 15). In the back half of the show, he and Heather discuss some recent "historical moments" impacting the LGBTQ community. 

Jonny and Heather update on some upcoming Pride events in Carbondale and respond to some in the community's disdain for Pride Month. They then turn to the Trump's "hush money" court case and the jury's verdict of guilty on all 34 counts. They link this to other court cases, Congressional hearings, and current events where attention to actual evidence and due process yield meaningful and believable results. And yes, this all ties back to queer identity and advocacy.

After a brief digression on the challenges of travel on aging queer bodies, Jonny and Heather review the slew of Pride activities coming up in Southern Illinois in June. In the back half of the show, th discuss "rules" for those non-queer folks resistant to Pride festivities and some of the various people or practices banned from Pride. They conclude with a study of the obvious, that X (formerly Twitter) is the most hostile social media platform for LGBTQ+ folks.